Chapter 383 - Cornered
*BOOM!*
The missile, fortunately, didn't seem to be aimed for their car but right behind them. But the explosion that followed was more than sufficient enough to topple Damien's car as it tumbled into the surrounding woods a few times before coming to a stop.
Damien did his best not to have his head hit against the steering wheel and even held Nathasia's body to the seat so that she wouldn't hit her head anywhere.
The two could only grit their teeth while the car was tumbling, and Damien couldn't stop his and her head from hitting against the windows.
Just as the damaged car came to a stop, Damien and Nathasia were bleeding from their temples and felt as if their bodies were too numb to move.
Damien, however, quickly removed the seatbelts and even helped remove hers.
But seeing half of Nathasia's face covered in blood, Damien felt a heaviness in his heart which he had not felt for a very long time. He saw that she suffered way more serious injuries than hers.
The only reason he was able to even lessen the injuries was because he was used to this and knew how to handle such falls.
"Nathasia, are you alright??" Damien turned her face towards him, and his eyes quivered when he saw that she had hit the side of her head pretty badly, and there was even blood on the window.
"D-Damien...run…" Nathasia languidly spoke through half-lidded eyes. She was trying to maintain the little bit of consciousness she had and was feeling heaviness in her head.
"Shh, don't talk. I am getting us out of here. The woods will hide us," Damien now felt glad that he only drove through places that had forests nearby just in case he and she had to escape.
He knew that if he traveled through big cities or places with too many people, it would be quite dangerous. Even now, after taking all the possible precautions, they ended up like this all because of one greedy innkeeper.
Damien kicked open the door and saw the helicopter coming in his direction, especially with its light beam.
"Fuck!" Damien quickly came around and opened the door as Nathasia slid into his arms and picked her up in his arms.
The light beam fell on his car right at that time, but Damien managed to get away in the nick of time to hide himself from the light.
The light beam of the helicopter continued to linger on the car for a while since they thought that the two were still inside the car and were waiting for them to get out.
Damien took this window of opportunity to run further down the forest slope.
But he heard many other vehicles approaching from a distance and couldn't help but feel that they were cornered.
While running, Damien suddenly tripped over a stone because of how dark it was, and he had no time to look at the ground and run.
However, as he was about to fall, he held Nathasia tightly to his chest, making sure she wouldn't get hurt as he tumbled down till his back slammed against the trunk of a tree.
"Ugh!!"
"Damien…" Nathasia choked out even though she was in a muddled state, seeing how Damien got injured severely just to protect her.
She couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in her heart, and hearing how the vehicles were stopping near the road, she knew it wouldn't be long before they were surrounded.
Suddenly, she felt as if she could see her end and became scared and sad, thinking that she wouldn't be able to see him anymore.
"Leave...leave me and run…"
Damien grimaced as he somehow got up though he felt like his spine might break into two at any moment.
He ignored Nathasia's words and kept on moving. Nathasia bit her lip, seeing how he seemed adamant in escaping with her even after knowing that she was nothing but heavy baggage for him that significantly slowed him down, especially in his state.
They both were injured, hers being more severe, but that didn't mean Damien was in good condition to run. She could see that he was gritting his teeth and using all his willpower to push forward.
*WOOF! WOOF!*
The barks and growls of large and ferocious dogs sounded from behind, making the two realize that the military police were using trained dogs to hunt them down.
"Damn…" Damien felt his back becoming numb from the pain as his movement faltered. But he still gathered all the strength in his legs and kept on pushing himself forward.
"They must have gone down!"
"Yeah, the dogs have picked up the scent!"
"Move, move! Come on, boys!"
Nathasia felt her heart being gripped in despair, hearing the voices of the men getting closer. She grabbed Damien's shirt and said as she sobbed, "Damien...please leave and run...I won't make it anyway…"
"I am not leaving you anywhere. Now just keep quiet and let me run…" Damien grimaced as he said since he could clearly feel fresh blood trickling down his back and slight dizziness in his head.
Nathasia could see how Damien was running slower and slower and the barks of the dogs sounding closer and closer.
"Hey! I can see him!"
"Go on! Bite them down, boys!" A soldier ordered the hunting dogs as they charged forward towards the injured Damien.
"Look out!" Nathasia couldn't help but cry out a warning to Damien upon seeing two ferocious dogs charging towards them.
Damien's expression became dark as he took out his pistol from his belt and turned around slightly to fire at the dogs.
Just before the dogs could get to him, he quickly fired at both the dogs, killing them on the spot, and continued to run.
"Fuck! He killed the dogs!"
"Stop right there! Or we will shoot!"
Damien ignored their warnings and continued to run.
*Bang!*
But suddenly, he heard a gunshot from behind and braced himself as a bullet struck his back.
"Ughh!"
"Damien!"